8A - Monday, November 28, 2011
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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Ford talks Hardaway Jr.
r I
JED MOCH/Daily
Senior forward David Wohlberg, who tallied a goal, hadn't registered a point since an Oct. 28 matchup with Ferris State.
Union pelts Mchigan in
inaugural meeti ngat Yost
By LIZ VUKELICH
Daily Sports Writer
Chris Brown believes that
adversity reveals character, it
doesn't
define it. UNION (NY) 6
This may MICHIGAN 3
be the case.
But the junior forward for the No.
11 Michigan hockey team would
surely rather not play with so
much adversity.
Michigan (3-5-2 CCHA, 7-7-2
overall) dropped its sixth con-
secutive game Sunday afternoon
to No. 13 Union, 6-3, following Fri-
day night's 4-1 defeat at the hands
of Northeastern.
"We've got to work harder,"
Brown said. "We can't do any-
thing different. It's not our goalie,
(defense), forwards (or) coaching.
It's just the will to win a game and
right now we don't have it."
Brown didn't blame Michigan's
recent struggles on one particu-
lar unit, but this weekend shone
a spotlight on a struggling defen-
sive corps. Union came into the
matchup boasting the fifth-best
power play in the country. So
"when Michigan took a slashing
penalty eight minutes into the first
period, it only took 11 seconds for
the Dutchmen to find the back of
the net.
The Wolverines' defense just
stood by idly.
"Our defense was getting
trapped," said Michigan coach
Red Berenson. "When you're play-
ing well, the mistakes get over-
looked and somebody makes up
for you. Right now, every mistake
we make shows up on the score-
board."
Defensive mistakes kept com-
ing. Two minutes after Union's
first goal, freshman defenseman
Brennan Serville lost control of the
puck when he tried to clear it away
from Michigan's net. A Dutch-
man recovered it and whizzed
a slapshot past fifth-year senior
goaltender Shawn Hunwick.
Breakaways - like the ones
that caused two Union goals -
meant that Hunwick was the
only Wolverine standing between
the Dutchmen and the net. It's a
tough situation for Berenson, who
knows that Hunwick won't be able
to block every shot.
"I think there's the odd save
(Hunwick) can make," Berenson
said. "Right now, Hunwick's in
sync with our team (but) it's just
not working."
Michigan only responded to the
Dutchmen with three goals. Some
of the goals were smart, like soph-
omore defenseman Mac Bennett's
long dish across the ice to fresh-
man forward Alex Guptill.
Others were luck, like when
senior forward David Wohlberg
found the loose puck among a pile
of skaters in front of Union's net.
But the offensive plays were
overshadowed each time the
Dutchmen scored.
The defensive woes were
almost exact replicas to the ones
the Wolverines saw Friday night
against Northeastern (3-7-2 HEA,
4-7-2), and it's not easy for the
players to see the same mistakes
being made every game.
"You could say it's kind of a
snowball effect," Brown said.
"One thing happens and then
another, and that's why they're
scoringgoals."
The defensive problems are
frustrating for senior defensemen
Greg Pateryn.
As the leader of the defensive
unit, Pateryn is charged with get-
ting the rest of the corps motivat-
ed every game.
"Guys are only giving a full 60
minutes every five minutes or so,"
Pateryn said. "(As a captain) you
have to go out there every single
shift and show them what you
have to do."
Added Brown: "It's time to
grow up. Time to play like a man
and (play) Michigan hockey. This
is not Michigan hockey."
By BEN ESTES
Daily Sports Editor
Most basketball fans know
that Michigan sophomore guard
Tim Hardaway Jr.'s father is a
former NBA star - having played
professionally for 14 years, most
of which with the Golden State
Warriors and Miami Heat.
And ever since Hardaway Jr.
broke out during the second half
of last season and helped lead
the Michigan basketball team to
a surprise NCAA Tournament
berth, he's seemed destined to
become the second in his family
to play in the NBA.
Based on past high school
rankings, this would be a sur-
prise - Hardaway Jr. was not
considered an elite recruit, and
he didn't pick up offers from top-
25 programs until long after he
had already committed to the
Wolverines. But the Miami, Fla.
native was the team's leading
scorer in Big Ten play last season,
averaging 14.9 points per game.
Hardaway Jr. is averaging
17.3 points this season, and in
an exclusive interview with The
Michigan Daily at the Maui Invi-
tational, ESPN NBA Draft ana-
lyst Chad Ford said he's noticed
improvements in the guard's
game.
"I think Hardaway Jr. has
improved from when I saw him
as a freshman," Ford said. "Main-
ly that goes with shot selection,
which is natural. You're used to
being the man in high school, and
then making that jump is a pretty
big jump. ... You clearly saw last
year he was talented, but you
cringed at some of the shots he
would take."
Last summer, Hardaway Jr.
- in preparation for a new role
as Michigan's go-to scorer in the
wake of point guard Darius Mor-
ris's early departure to the NBA
- worked on the areas of the
game he felt were lacking, specifi-
cally ball handling and mid-range
shooting. The goal was to become
more well-rounded, improving
in areas other than his already-
established ability to knock down
the 3-pointer. It also would make
Hardaway Jr. more of a weapon
on the ball screens that are so
critical to Michigan coach John
Beilein's offense and that Morris
thrived on as the team's leading
scorer a year ago.
So far, the work seems to have
paid off. Just 26.2 percent of
Hardaway Jr.'s points have come
from 3-pointers, whereas last
season that figure was 47 percent.
And Ford said that it isn't a huge
issue that Hardaway Jr. is a bit of
a tweener between the "two" and
"three" positions, since in the
NBA the difference between the
positions is largely inconsequen-
tial. Hardaway Jr. also played in
the FIBA U19 World Champion-
ships last July, scoring 21 points
in the final game against Austra-
lia and clinching fifth place for
Team USA.
"I think the Team USA expe-
rience has helped him as well,"
Ford said. "I feel like he's a lot
more poised."
But the analystsays the sopho-
more still has more to work on.
"He's got good size for his posi-
tion, he's athletic, he can shoot
the basketball, and he can put the
ball on the floor, get to the bas-
ket," Ford said. "He's got a lot of
the tools that you sort of look for
in a wing. If he was a better ball-
handler - and it's ironic, because
his dad was amazing - that's
probably his biggest weakness. I
think he (also) needs to get a lit-
tle more consistent from 3-point
range.
"ButI think he's a pro."
Ford said Hardaway Jr. isn't
currently considered afirst-round
prospect, but if he and Michigan
have a big year and he returns for
his junior season, his draft stock
could rise to that status. But Ford
said that his ceiling isn'tcthatchigh
and thatcbeing alottery pick prob-
ably isn't in the cards, saying that
most scouts and general manag-
ers don't see Hardaway Jr. as a
"superstar."
In trying to find a player with
a similar game, Ford compared
Hardaway Jr. to another tweener
in Chicago Bulls guard/forward
Jimmy Butler, a Marquette prod-
uct who was picked with the last
pick in the first round in June.
Of course, all this analysis is
overshadowed by the larger ques-
tion - will Hardaway Jr. leave
the Wolverines after this season?
It would be the third consecutive
year with an early departure for
Michigan, after Morris surprised
many by leaving school after his
sophomore season and Manny
Harris left the year before.
"He won't need the money,
and a lotof times that's a big issue
for players," Ford said. "He's got
his dad, (so) he's going to have
access to more NBA guys giving
him their opinions, which means
he probably won't get bad info.
I probably say he stays, but I'm
always surprised."
For Michigan, the primary
concern is how Hardaway Jr.
plays this season. After a Maui
Invitational in which the guard
averaged 20 points per game
against top competition, the Wol-
verines hope his play continues at
the rate that so impresses their
opponents.
4
4
TODD NEEDLE/Daily
Sophomore Tim HardawayJr. would likely be drafted if he left for the NBA.
THE GAME
From Page 1A
Mike Martin stayed.
The team's best defensive play-
er on asfew of Michigan's worst
defenses finally was a part of a
true Michigan defense.
Martin, Van Bergen and fifth-
year enior cPensivetackle Will
Hei ngeaped back from the
mob that started to -ush the field.
"We just kind of stood out
there and soaked it in - what this
team had done," Martin said.
David Molk stayed.
He anchored the offensive line
Robinson turned to in the fourth
quarter when the Wolverines
needed to ice the game.
"We're going to ride you guys,"
Robinson told them. "You're going
to win this for us."
Molk, the center with a mean
streak, became the lifeline of
Hoke's offense, protecting Rob-
inson and guiding a powerful run
game. The injuries that plagued
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his career became an after-
thought.
When it was done, the usually
even-keeled Molk laughed the
loudest.
"It's been a long time," Molk
said. "I've been through a lot of
stuff. But then again, in the end,
you truly realize what this place
means.
"I love Michigan, there's no,
doubt about it. I don't care what
we had to go through. I love this
school. I love this university. I
love this team. I love my team-
mates. I love my coaches. This is
great. This is what college foot-
ball is. (I'll) never forget it."
Senior receivers Kevin Koger,
Junior Hemingway and Martavi-
ous Odoms all stayed, and they
all caught touchdown passes
against the Buckeyes.
Those who stayed were
around long enough to see
Hoke's countdown clocks be
reset - on Sunday, one of them
read "zero" days since Michigan
last beat "Ohio," the other read
"364 days" until the next edition
of The Game.
Many seniors watched the
finale unfold from the sidelines,
their reward for staying being a
kiss on the cheek from Hoke and
a personalized Michigan football
from the pregame senior day fes-
tivities.
Still, those who stayed will
forever be known as Brady Hoke's
first team - Team 132, as he calls
them - immortalized just like Bo
Schembechler's first team in 1969.
When Schembechler told that
team, "Those who stay will be
champions," he didn't inherit the
110th-ranked defense. His quar-
terback wasn't an enigma.
We've learned that sometimes
those who stay will have to
endure. They will be ridiculed.
They will be embarrassed, playing
through the worst three years in
the history of Michigan football.
They will represent a dark age,
one unknown to anyone before
their time. They will be consid-
ered the children of a prestigious
program that just don't fit in.
If Team 132 has taught us any-
thing, it's that there won't always
be championships for those who
stay, but there will be glory.
Those who stay will knock off
Notre Dame under the lights at
Michigan Stadium. They'll demol-
ish Nebraska, welcoming Big Red
to the Big Ten the way Michigan
teams of old would. And, above
all, those who stay will beat Ohio
State, completing their journey
from forgettable to legendary.
Those who stay will bring back
Michigan football.
They immediately bought into
a magical coach and didn't look
back. Hoke taught them how to
play "Michigan football," when
they admittedly didn't know the
meaning of the phrase.
He made sure the Ohio State
game would be the most impor-
tant of their lives. Molk said The
Game was emphasized "a thou-
sand times" more than during the
three-year Rich Rodriguez era,
and they'll remember this win -
the one that ended Ohio State's
seven-year win streak - forever.
Those who stay will love Brady
Hoke and all he stands for. They'll
play for him because he loved
them first.
"He is us; we are him," Molk
said. "I love him. I love how he
coaches. I love his leadership
ability and how he does it. I'd do
anything for him.
"If I ever (come) back, 20 years
from now, the first guy I would
find, I would call coach Hoke.
That's who he is."
When the fans rushed the field,
the seniors who stayed thought,
"finally," as Van Bergen did, and
the win over Ohio State brought
them to tears. They drenched
Hoke in water, then hugged him.
One student in the stands
stayed. She held a sign that read:
"Brady, thanks for making our
senior year."
Eventually, Team 132 left the
Michigan fa lily on the field and
gathered in the locker room. An
emotional Hoke told them how
he's "proud of them and what
they've done for Michigan."
"Just to see them happy, that's
the neat part," Hoke said. "I
mean, the investment and com-
mitment they've made as ateam.
It's special. It's special. It's one of
those good days."
Those who stayed huddled
together one last time in the Big
House.
Van Bergen shouted, "Team 132
'til the death."
For having stayed, they gotto
sing "The Victors." And it will
never again sound so sweet.
-Rohan can be reached
at trohan@umich.edu or on
Twitter @TimRohan
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